iWorld
Citadel Indian & Italian spinoffs axed as Amazon rewrites its spy game
MUMBAI: Amazon has pulled the plug on Citadel: Honey Bunny and Citadel: Diana, the much-hyped Indian and Italian offshoots of its globe-trotting spy saga. Instead, those “successful and widely enjoyed international chapters” will be stitched into season two of the main series, Citadel, which is now set to drop globally in Q2 of 2026.
That’s the word from Amazon MGM Studios television head Vernon Sanders, who promised an “exhilarating” return. “With high-stakes storytelling, new additions to our amazing cast and bold, cinematic ambition,” he said, “season two will deepen the emotional journeys of Nadia, Mason and Orlick against the relentless force that is Manticore.”
Translation? The spinoffs are toast, and Amazon’s once-grand plan to build a Bond-style franchise without Bond is looking like an expensive misfire.
The cancellation comes on the heels of Jennifer Salke’s exit from the studio. Salke, who first pitched the sprawling espionage epic to Joe and Anthony Russo, dreamt up Citadel as a prestige powerhouse for Prime Video—an interconnected universe with local-language series spanning continents. What she got instead: ballooning budgets, reshoots galore and a reported $300m price tag for season one.
Still, Citadel got renewed before its April 2023 premiere. But season two was quietly delayed after Amazon brass were said to be “unhappy” with early footage. Now, storylines from Honey Bunny and Diana—which, despite being ratings hits in India and Italy, respectively—will be merged into the mothership’s narrative.
The new season picks up a month after the first ended: the spies are underground, hunted by Manticore, and pulled back into action to stop Brazilian billionaire Paulo Braga from unleashing a world-ending device, courtesy of Citadel’s own Bernard Orlick.
So yes, the spies are still in the game. But Amazon’s dream of a global franchise? That’s very much under review.
iWorld
Prime Video to stream Tamil thriller Exam from May 15
Seven-episode series from National Award-winner A. Sarkunam streams in India and 240-plus countries
MUMBAI: Prime Video announced on April 27th that Exam, a taut seven-episode suspense drama set against the crucible of high-stakes competitive testing, will premiere on May 15th in India and across more than 240 countries and territories worldwide.
Written and directed by A. Sarkunam, a National Award-winner, the series is produced under the Wallwatcher Films banner by the creative duo Pushkar and Gayatri, who have previously delivered Suzhal: The Vortex (both seasons) and Vadhandhi: The Fable of Velonie for the platform. Dushara Vijayan and Aditi Balan lead the cast, with Abbas in a pivotal role.
The show will stream in Tamil with dubbed versions in Telugu, Hindi, Malayalam, and Kannada, and subtitles in 15 languages, including English, a distribution sweep that underscores Prime Video’s push to globalise Indian regional content.
Nikhil Madhok, director and head of originals at Prime Video India, framed the series as both timely and commercially astute. “Exam is a very timely and relevant story that captures the emotional intensity of competitive exams and masterfully transforms it into a thrilling high-stakes drama,” he said. “We believe it is a story that will resonate deeply with millions.” Madhok noted that it was a privilege to once again collaborate with Pushkar and Gayatri following the success of Suzhal and Vadhandhi.
For Pushkar and Gayatri, the series is as much a moral reckoning as a thriller. “With Exam, we wanted to dig into ambition, injustice, and those moral crossroads that people face when pushed to the edge,” the creative producers said. “At the heart of this story is a young woman who refuses to remain powerless. Her journey is not about glamorising defiance, but about exploring the emotional and ethical cost of standing up to a system stacked against her.” They described Prime Video as “an incredible collaborator” and “the perfect home” to bring the series to global audiences.
Wallwatcher Films, which Pushkar and Gayatri founded and run, has been on a productive streak with the platform. Beyond Exam, the company is also readying Vadhandhi Season 2 for Prime Video, making the duo one of the platform’s most active regional creative partners.
The real exam, it seems, is for Prime Video itself: can a Tamil drama about systemic injustice and a young woman’s defiance crack audiences from Chennai to Chicago? If Pushkar and Gayatri’s track record is anything to go by, the answer is likely yes, and the results will be out on May 15th.
